New jobless claims surpass economist expectations.

After peaking in the millions in April, new claims for unemployment benefits in the United States have been steadily decreasing in recent months. By the end of August and September, weekly claims had dropped below one million. Yet, with the ongoing impact of the pandemic and ongoing delays in passing a new stimulus package, there are signs that new claims are on the rise once again.

For the week ending October 10, economists surveyed by Dow Jones had predicted around 830,000 new unemployment claims. However, the actual number exceeded these projections, reaching approximately 898,000. This marks the largest surge in new jobless claims since August, representing an increase of 53,000 from the previous week’s total of 845,000.

While the total number of ongoing unemployment claims has been gradually decreasing, it remains alarmingly high, currently averaging around 11.48 million. The U.S. economy has managed to recover approximately 11.4 million of the jobs lost since the start of the pandemic, resulting in an overall unemployment rate of 7.9%. Nonetheless, this rate remains more than double the pre-coronavirus unemployment rate.

Claims specifically filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provides adjusted benefits to individuals who are typically ineligible, have also been on a consistent decline and currently stand at 372,981. In September, PUA recipients made up nearly half of all individuals in the U.S. receiving unemployment benefits.

Certain states are encountering challenges in accurately tracking unemployment claims. California, for instance, has temporarily halted its unemployment systems and stopped processing new claims to focus on addressing existing backlogs and enhancing measures to prevent fraud.